This project examines crime and violence in New York City's public housing, for the years 1985 through 1994, in relation to the social and structural organization of these developments and their surrounding neighborhoods. Although public housing has come to symbolize the dangers of urban life, there is very little research on crime and violence in public housing, and there is no reliable evidence that crime rates are greater in public housing than in comparably structured neighborhoods with primarily private housing. This research explores the social ecology of public housing by locating public housing within a broader urban context – both spatially and historically.

Several factors are considered to explain differences in crime rates between public housing developments: (1) the structure / design of public housing developments, (2) resident composition and changes in composition over time, (3) crime rates in neighborhoods surrounding public housing, and (4) changes in social and structural composition of neighborhoods around public housing, and (5) changes in policy that affect public housing residents. Using these indicators, we will develop estimates of the social ecology of violence in public housing and surrounding neighborhoods.

The research questions this study will address include: